


Take A Chance

by borrowedphrases



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety, Awkward Flirting, Cigarettes, M/M, New Year's Eve, Sheith Secret Santa 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 20:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9140584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borrowedphrases/pseuds/borrowedphrases
Summary: New Years at Allura's, and Keith's being awkward with his crush.





	

**Author's Note:**

> For tumblr user [soapysheeps](http://soapysheeps.tumblr.com/). Happy Sheithmas!
> 
> Btw Keith is at the very least of legal drinking age in this, probably older.

_"Shiro's going to be there."_

Those had been the words that had damned Keith. Allura and her match making could be insufferable even at the best of times, but when it involved someone that Keith was actually interested in it was a thousand times worse. He still wanted to kill Hunk for spilling the beans on his 'little crush'. 

Keith could have said no. He could have stayed home and welcomed in the new year like he always did, watching old movies and eating ice cream straight from the carton. He didn't like parties, and he barely knew a handful of Allura's friends, and at least one of the ones he did know he barely tolerated. But come ten thirty on December 31st he found himself at Allura's front door, a bottle of modestly priced champagne in hand, and wearing the nicest tour shirt he owned under his slightly less-studded-than-the-other-one leather jacket.

"Keith, you came!" Allura threw her arms around him not two seconds after opening the door, very nearly knocking him into the snow with the force of her hug.

Keith staggered slightly, his free arm patting awkwardly at her back as he turned his head and coughed away from her face. "Dunno how long I'll stay, but I'm here."

Allura pulled away, taking the bottle of champagne from him and ushering him inside. The living room was already full of people Keith didn't recognize, and he felt himself curling inward on himself to try and go unnoticed by the more extroverted of the bunch - primarily Lance.

"Let me take your jacket, then you can go to the kitchen for some snacks." Allura helped him slip out of his jacket, then floated off to mingle with the rest of her guests, leaving Keith hovering in the foyer. 

Drawing in a slow breath, Keith mentally gathered his anxiety into a ball the way his therapist had told him, picturing it as a sphere of black yuck and then forcing it downward and out of himself through his feet, giving it to the ground to hold. It worked sometimes, though he was usually left with a lingering queasiness in his stomach, as he was now.

Only a few people hovered in the kitchen, the counter covered in snacks and fine bottles of various drinks. Keith wasn't much for wine, but maybe a beer would help settle the last of his nerves. He hadn't even _seen_ the reason he'd came yet, and already he was thinking about retreating outside for a smoke. 

Halfway through his beer, and several _hors d'oeuvres_ later, he heard Allura's shout of delight come from the direction of the foyer, followed by a loud but gentle voice that made Keith's cheeks feel warm - well, he could always blame it on the beer is anyone noticed, and he tipped his bottle vertical and downed the rest of it, reaching for a second as he shoved some goat cheese and melon into his mouth.

"Shiro," Keith could hear Allura's voice take a very pointed tone, one that made him feel like looking for the nearest exit. "Why don't you go to the kitchen and get yourself a drink, I'll take your coat for you."

 _Shit_. Keith fumbled as he tried to open his beer, pinching his thumb between the bottle opener and the cap. He cursed sharply, shook his hand a few times, then stuck his finger in his mouth to suck on it.

"Here," a steady hand took the bottle from Keith, their fingers brushing lightly together. "Let me get that for you."

The soft _click shink_ of the cap being pried off his bottle rang sharply in Keith's ears, and the way that touch had made his fingers tingle a little did nothing to help the warmth of his cheeks. He glanced up at Shiro and murmured a small thank you as he took his beer back.

Shiro smiled - gods that smile could _murder_ someone - and opened a beer for himself, taking a long pull from it before focusing his gaze on Keith's. "I didn't expect to see you here. I know you don't really like parties." 

"Yeah, uh." _Real smooth Keith, good job._ "Allura insisted."

"Yeah, she can be pretty persuasive." The gentle laugh that Shiro gave him was both kind and infuriating. Keith hated being laughed at, even being 'laughed with', but somehow when Shiro laughed Keith found his stomach doing somersaults inside him, with his heart aching to join in. 

Shiro's hand came to rest on Keith's shoulder as he leaned around him to inspect the offerings on the snack table. Keith's eyes fixated on the side of Shiro's face, the sharp line of his jaw, the light peppering of stubble on his cheek, the faint dusting of grey at his temple. From this distance Keith could smell Shiro's cologne, nothing too strong or heavy, just a gentle scent, something that reminded Keith of being in the woods during the fall, earthy and mellow. It made his head swim a little in a pleasant way, and Shiro still hadn't moved his hand away from his shoulder.

"Hey so," Keith cleared his throat after his voice practically squawked in Shiro's ear, turning his head and taking a heavy ship of his beer. "I'm going out for a smoke."

"Oh, can I join you?" Shiro asked with another of those unfair smiles. 

_Damn it_. "Yeah, sure. I'm just gonna go grab my coat."

Outside at least Keith could quiet his head a little, let the chill in the air cool some of the flush from his cheeks. Shiro standing next to him - looking far too dashing in his pea coat - and leaning in mirror of him against the back porch railing didn't make his stomach calm down, but it was still better than being inside with everyone watching them.

Keith tapped his crumpled pack against his hand, then slid one of the cigarettes out, perching it between his lips and cupping his hand around his lighter as he inhaled it to flame. He took a long first drag, closing his eyes as the calming smoke soothed at his nerves, then exhaled in a slow sigh.

"Could I bum one off you?" Shiro shifted a little closer, bumping shoulders with Keith. "I try not to smoke too much anymore, so I didn't bring any with me."

"Yeah, sure." Keith handed off his already lit cigarette to Shiro, their fingers brushing again with the pass, then lit another one for himself. They smoked quietly together, Keith fighting his urge to watch Shiro face as he smoked - he closed his eyes with each inhale, his lips curving at the corners, the lines around his eyes easing gently.

"I'm really glad I caught you here." Shiro murmured after a while, his half smoked cigarette dangling between his fingers off the railing. "There's, well, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while, and you're supposed to take chances on New Years, right? Resolutions and all that? What I mean is... ah..." 

Shiro trailed off, his free hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. His cheeks were darker than before, and he couldn't quite seem to be able to look Keith in the eyes. "Would you like to go get dinner together, sometime? Or maybe just coffee?"

Keith blinked, stared, nearly dropped his cigarette as he tried to ash. "Are you... asking me out?"

"Maybe?" Shiro's voice actually _cracked_ on that word, and his cheeks looked almost purple in the dim light filtering in through the patio door. "I mean, yes. Yes I am. I've, uh, I've kind of... been interested in you - wow that sounds kind of creepy? - been interested in you for a while now, and thought maybe you might be interested too? In me, I mean, not in yourself."

"I'd love to have dinner." Keith spoke all in a rush, trying to stop Shiro from babbling as much as he was riding out a wave of giddy, heart pounding adrenaline. He shifted a bit, sliding a little closer to Shiro across the railing, until their arms pressed together.

Over the railing, Keith reached out for Shiro's free hand, hooking their pinkies together. He took a moment to quiet his heart down, then turned his head and looked up at Shiro through his bangs. "I've been interested in you for a while too."

"Oh." Shiro's little finger curled a bit more tightly around Keith's as a wide grin spread over his face. "Okay good. That's good. So I haven't completely embarrassed myself. Phew."

"Well, not completely." Keith nudges at Shiro's shoulder with his tease, laughing softly. "Hey, you know what else you're supposed to do on New Years?"

"No?" Shiro blinked down at him for a moment, and then Keith could actually see realization clicking into place in the gears in his brain. "O-oh."

Keith was pretty sure his cheeks had never flushed this hotly before, but he'd started this, he was going to finish it, damn it. He could tell his therapist next week that he'd taken a chance, despite his anxiety, put himself out there like she always challenged him to. "You could, you know. I'd like to."

"Yeah?" Shiro cleared his throat, then flicked the remainder of his cigarette off the porch. He reached up to glide his fingers across Keith's cheek, like he was trying to brush away his blush. As his hand cupped Keith's face, he leaned in, bumping their noses together before their lips met.

Keith sucked in a sharp little breath as Shiro kissed him, his eyes falling closed. He moved a little closer, leaning into Shiro as the kiss lingered. Soft lips against his own chapped ones, a hand on his cheek, warm breath exhaled against his nose. He felt a little like he was floating, like his feet weren't quite settled firmly on the porch. 

"You're supposed to wait until _midnight_ to kiss!"

Lance's teasing voice from across the porch completely shattered the mood. Shiro and Keith jumped apart, though their hands remained linked, head snapping toward the door. The red of Keith's face quickly shifted from one of flustered embarrassment to one of frustrated rage.

"Fuck _off_." Keith shouted back, trying to ignore Shiro's delighted laugh right next to his ear.

"Seriously, Lance." Pidge came up at Lance's elbow, grabbing his arm and trying to yank him back inside. "Let the young lovebirds have their moment whenever they want."

Making fond kissy faces, Lance was dragged back inside. Pidge flashed them a thumbs up and a wink just before closing the door, leaving them alone again.

"Oh I'm _so_ going to kick his ass." Keith grumbled as he flung his cigarette off the porch and untangled his finger from Shiro's, intent of heading back inside and finding the man in question.

"Later." Shiro reached for Keith's hands, threading their fingers together and gently tugging him closer. He leaned down the little distance to press their foreheads together, then let go of Keith's hands in favor of slipping his arms around him.

Keith grumbled once, then sighed, relaxing infinitesimally against Shiro's chest. " _Later_."

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://borrowedphrases.tumblr.com/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/borrowedphrases)


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